JESSE MAINE M.Ed.
Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment
Download this video yourself, check out the teacher notes, or find other great ideas here!
PA Common Core Science V. Common Core State Standards
Below you will find the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Learners (ELA) which has been augmented to contain only the standards for science. In this document you will find that I highlighted the standards to reflect correlations with the proposed Pennsylvania common Core (PACC) in science. As you may notice, all of the standards found in the CCSS were copied verbatim into the PACC. Therefore, if you have been aligning your science classes according to the CCSS you are already aligned to the proposed PACC.
Key for Highlighting in Documents
Documents
ELA Common Core Standards Review for PA CC Science Alignment .pdf
PA CC for Reading in Science And Technical Subjects reviewed for alignment to CCSS.pdf
PA CC for Writing in Science And Technical Subjects reviewed for alignment to CCSS.pdf
Walmart Middle School Literacy Initiative
While instruction in early elementary grades emphasizes “learning to read,” this focus shifts in middle school to “reading to learn.” By middle school, students encounter more texts in the content-area disciplines and must apply literacy strategies to learn new information. This can be particularly challenging for students who struggle in reading and responding to informational and narrative texts.
The self-paced lessons in this initiative use a standard format to lead students through a set of activities in which they can engage with and learn grade-appropriate content. They watch short videos, read carefully composed informational text, learn key content vocabulary through repeated encounters with relevant concepts and related terms, and write responses to both reading and viewing. Note taking, online quizzes, and interactive activities serve as formative assessments, informing both students and teachers of progress in learning. A summative essay writing assignment at the end of each self-paced lesson allows students to demonstrate and apply what they’ve learned from the lesson. The approach of these lessons is aligned with the content and practices of the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards.
In this professional development video from WGBH, teachers, students, and a literacy expert present their perspectives on the use of the self-paced lessons in the Walmart Middle School Literacy Initiative.
Resources for Current events in STEM
Middle School
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorations/
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/
High School
